This story started out with a bang - quite captivating; I also really liked the narrative perspective. Unfortunately, it wasn't able to sustain the same level of excitement throughout.
I grew impatient with the formulated premise of the "big secret" that someone is keeping, especially when you know it will eventually come out and unravel everything. It's precisely why I avoid rom coms.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #findinggrace in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an engrossing story. You have the beautiful and attractive husband and wife, Honor and Tom. From outer appearances, they are a young couple who has it all - successful careers, loyal friends, and a beautiful young daughter, Chloe. Honor, however, is obsessed with having another child to give Chloe a brother or sister, and as a mother, she cannot grasp or attain happiness without that other child that she feels will complete their family.

When we meet the family, it is Christmastime and the family is spending it at the Ritz in Paris, something that has become their tradition. They are not a happy family unit though mainly because of Honor's obsession with fertility doctors, egg donors, and surrogates as she has become unable to carry a pregnancy to term after suffering through numerous miscarriages.

An event occurs at the end of chapter 1 that will rock the reader to the core. The remainder of the book concentrates on the family directly afterwards then 4-5 years after that Christmas.

It's a great story on love, loss, friendship, deceit, and searching for happiness. One of the things that I probably liked the best about the novel was its unique narration.

If you enjoy novels about love and loss; the duration of friendship; and being there to be family, look for this one when it drops June 10th. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to preview this touching and well written novel.

I can not even begin to describe this book. Bam- right from the start I was blindsided.

Don’t read too much before you pick this one up- but know there are difficult subjects. A very original story with great writing and an interesting perspective.

I liked this one- didn’t love it.

Finding Grace, by Loretta Rothschild, really grabbed me in the beginning. That first chapter...wow! After that, I found it less and less interesting and actually put it down a few times. While I liked the overall plot, I just lost interest. It ended up being just an ok read for me. I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC ebook that I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

📚 Wow, ok. Call your book club and put this in the rotation. This is one of those books that are you definitely NOT going to agree with every decision the characters make— but you’ll be left with so much to talk about and discuss. It’s a perfect book club book. Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for the ARC— this is out now! And thanks to @bookedwithbecca who first put it on my radar.

📚 Now, before you say— ok Chelsea, wow and I’m going to go read the synopsis just don’t ok. Trust me that you want to read this and then go 👏🏼 in 👏🏼 blind. You have to, ok? Promise? In fact— I already put the synopsis on the last slide of my reviews, but I’m not doing that here!

📚 This book starts with a bang. I was doing the audio at first and I rewound the end of the first chapter THREE times, to make sure I heard it correctly. It was that shocking. From there, we’re taken down a gut wrenching ching, and morally questionable, journey. There are some mistakes and some really great moments— but all of them will you get the gears turning and have you wondering what you would have done if faced with the same situation.

📚 This was fantastic and will-written and it’s one that I’ll be thinking about, and recommending to others, for a long time to come.

Unfortunately, this one really let me down—I don’t think it was the right fit for me.

The first chapter had a shocking twist that made me think I was in for something intense and emotionally powerful. But after that, it just didn’t live up to the promise. The story lost momentum, and it never really pulled me back in.

I struggled to connect with any of the characters, especially Tom, which made it tough to stay invested. Honestly, this book drained my motivation to read—not just this, but another book I was enjoying too. It took me a long time to get through, and overall, it just didn’t work for me.

This book is interesting because it is entirely told from the view of Tom’s wife, Honor. I am not sure if that was the right voice especially since most of the story is Tom’s. But I guess it helped keep her present.

Most of this book felt uncomfortable. Watching tom build his wall of lies that was undoubtably going to fall down on him. But yet I didn’t stop reading!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

<b>The Short of It:</b>

The first chapter cliffhanger left me with my mouth open.

<b>The Rest of It:</b>

I have to be very careful with this review because for me, the draw was the absolute shock of those first few chapters.

Honor seems to have everything: she adores her bright and beautiful daughter, Chloe, and her charming, handsome husband, Tom, even if he works one hundred hours a week. Yet Honor’s longing for another baby threatens to eclipse all of it―until a shocking event changes their lives forever. ~ from the publisher

This was the perfect read. It’s about relationships, love and loss, and what happens when things don’t go quite as planned. How do you deal with such heartache? Can you? Can you go on? How do you rebuild a life when everything seems to have fallen down around you?

This was a clever story. The set-up leads you innocently by the hand and then you are completely sucker-punched in the best possible way. I mean, I was floored. I kept re-reading one page over and over again. Completely in shock. Honestly, I was a little mad at Rothschild because when I settled in for a good read, I had NO idea what I was signing up for. Wow. Well done. And it’s a debut? What?

All I can say is read it. It’s not perfect but what a read.

For more reviews, visit my blog: <a href="http://bookchatter.net">Book Chatter</a>.

This book is a debut for this author and
definitely does a good job of drawing
you into the story. This is a story about
life and loss and the extraordinary
things that occur to form a family. The
ending was predictable but I was glad
it ended the way it did. Many thanks to
netgalley and the publisher for an ARC
of this book. I look forward to reading
more from this author.

@stmartinspress | #gifted 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘 by debut author Loretta Rothschild was a book I’d been excited to read. As it opened, I wasn’t quite sure, but when I got to the end of the first chapter, WOW!. It was a stunning start, one of the best I’ve ever read. Sadly, that feeling didn’t last long, so I’ll keep the rest of my thoughts brief. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I see this book is beloved by many, so please, please seek those out because you’re not going to get any of that love from me. I thought it was a bit of a trainwreck, another story built on tired tropes. There were deep, dark secrets that over and over weren’t revealed, lies piled on lies, gaslighting, unrequited love, and more. ALL for the sake of an extraordinarily unlikely romance. Top all that off with a neat and tidy ending that I saw coming a mile away, and that’s the book, nearly the whole story. That’s it, all I’ve got.⁣⁣ 2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I had no idea what to expect and was very surprised by the jarring beginning of the story but found it the story very moving. The narrative perspective was unique and I found it very effective. The book was hopeful in the face of great tragedy and explored the multidimensional nature of love and relationships, particularly marriage.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. If you are going to read Finding Grace, I suggest reading it sooner rather than later before spoilers become common. There is a very early plot twist, and it is difficult to describe this novel without revealing it. It's a fast, compelling read, but one I read with the uncomfortable feeling of wanting to shout "NO DO NOT DO THAT" at main characters for much of the book. Some of the characters are cliched and what may read as heartwarming is also a bit trite. Even so, this is a good one for book groups as lively discussion will surely ensue.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of Finding Grace in exchange for my honest review. I believe this book was a debut so I must say wow! Excellent writing style that keeps you engaged and wanting to know exactly what happens next. Grace is a widower who has donated her eggs for others to use impulsively after her husband passes. Tom is married to Honor and they have a daughter Chloe together but Honor suffers from infertility and wants more children. Tom is not as into this idea as she is and they argue, when tragedy strikes Tom is only left with the son Henry who is conceived thanks to all of Honors persistence. Years after Honor and Chloe pass Tom accidentally receives a letter in the mail intended for Grace where he finds out that Grace is actually the biological mother of Henry. When Tom goes to meet Grace and talk to her he ends up walking into a widower’s meeting and falling in love. Will Tom end up with Grace? Will she forgive his betrayal and raise her biological son? This book did not disappoint.
Five stars. Highly recommend

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable reading experience.

The first chapter will suck you into reading this story. It dragged somewhat the second half. A lot of characters to keep track of, some are a hoot, some very unlikable. Tom was a character I didn’t really like in how he wasn’t honest with Grace, he kept getting in deeper and deeper with his lies. A good book club discussion title. 3.5 stars

This book is honestly so hard to review, because I think readers should go into this book as blind as possible. It didn't end up being the story I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. The characters were complex and not always likeable, but I was still rooting for them the whole way.

This book touched on a lot of different issues especially for women. HONOR was a type of woman, but she had one child named C.H l o e. Her husband was named tom. She had a lot of miscarriages and wanted another baby so she got A person to carry her child. She was a very unhappy woman and Tom.Do not know what to do. So they went to Paris for Christmas like always. But a bomb shattered their lives when the wife died and the child died. The woman who was carrying the child delivered. The child and Tom took on a different adventure. There are so many different turns and twists in this book and I could see how 2 women's lives could be intervening together.. Tom is an interesting character. As you read the book, you'll find out more about his life and how he had different women in his life and how he tried to get over his wife and child, but it was interesting.

If getting hooked on a book from the very first chapter is vital to your reading experience, look no further. My jaw literally hit the floor, and I was in shock. I think this book is best experienced if you go in completely blind as well. I did not truly know what the story was about, and I’m happy that I did it that way. It was heartbreaking but incredibly well written. It is a story about love and loss and an examination of grief that was so interesting. I felt for all the characters in this book, going from wanting to just shake them to force them to make good decisions and just give them a hug to comfort them. I absolutely loved the point of view of the narrator- that certainly made the story much more layered and interesting. The only gripe I have about the book is that I felt it drug a bit in the middle, but wow, what a story this was. Overall, however, I felt it was incredibly well written, tragic but almost hopeful. Would be an absolute perfect book for book clubs because of how unique it is.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reader’s copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Tom, our main character, goes on a journey after a tragedy to learn how important honesty and being present and attentive in a relationship really are. And while he makes infuriating decisions along the way, we see how his life feels just slightly out of his control given his dealt circumstances.

The narrative plot and style were a bit clunky in their execution; the author tries to be a bit experimental in the narrative POV choice and with weaving in snippets of Honor's (Tom's wife) memoir, but those elements ultimately did nothing for moving the plot along or developing the book's larger themes of love, fidelity, and grief.

The cast of supporting characters was a bit too long and I honestly could not tell some of them apart. I loved Colette's character and how she showed that people actually can change over time for the better.

Sort of a mash-up of contemporary fiction and romance (ish).

This book at the beginning was fascinating. The author gave us deep, in-depth descriptions of Honor and what she's thinking and does. In the first half I was drawn in and that had me turning the page to see what was next. Once we get to the second half of the book I wondered what the heck I was reading, Was it a new book? Why the ghost? I felt that the reader deserved more before the incident was thrust upon us. It quickly made me lose interest, I didn't like the characters in the second half and just wanted this book to be done.